How free game giveaways work, and how to claim them safely
Stores regularly give away full PC games for free, and once you claim one it stays in your library. Scammers know this too, so here's how giveaways actually work and how to claim them without risking your account.
"Free to keep" vs "free to play" vs "free weekend"
- Free to keep: a paid game is temporarily priced at $0. If you claim it during the promotion, it's added to your account permanently, just like a purchase. Our free-to-keep tracker lists these.
- Free to play: the game is always free and makes money from in-game purchases. Nothing to "claim" in time.
- Free weekend / free trial: you can play a paid game for a limited time, but it is removed from your library afterwards unless you buy it.
Why stores give games away
Giveaways bring people into a store and get them to create accounts and install launchers. Publishers sometimes agree because a free promotion can introduce a series before a sequel, or bring new players into a game that sells extras. Knowing this helps: a giveaway is a marketing deal between a store and a publisher, so it's announced on the store's own website and doesn't require anything except an account there.
How to claim one
- Open the game's page on the store's own website or launcher. Our links go to the store via CheapShark.
- Sign in to your existing account. You never need to enter payment details to claim a $0 game, although some stores ask you to go through a $0 checkout.
- Confirm that the game now shows in your library. You don't have to download or install it to keep it.
Promotions end at a fixed time, often with little notice of the exact hour on third-party sites, so claim early rather than at the last minute. Some giveaways are limited to certain regions or require a minimum age setting on your account.
Spotting giveaway scams
Fake giveaways are one of the most common ways gaming accounts get stolen. Common signs:
- A friend or stranger sends a link saying "free game", "free skins" or "I accidentally reported you, click here". Accounts of friends get hijacked and used to spread these.
- The link goes to a look-alike domain (letters swapped or extra words) and shows a sign-in page.
- The page asks you to "verify" by entering your password, a two-factor code, or by scanning a QR code with your store app.
- You're asked to complete surveys, install a browser extension, or download an "installer" to unlock the game.
Protect your accounts
- Turn on the store's two-factor authentication (an authenticator app is better than SMS where available).
- Use a unique password for each store, ideally from a password manager.
- Review authorised devices and connected apps in your account settings now and then, and remove ones you don't recognise.
- If you think you've entered details on a fake site, change the password from the real site right away and contact the store's official support.
See what's free right now on our free-to-keep page, which refreshes from live data every time you open it.